<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>A Little Out of Hand by Terra_Banks</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25396354">A Little Out of Hand</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Terra_Banks/pseuds/Terra_Banks'>Terra_Banks</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Domestic Violence, F/M, Happy Ending, Light Angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 02:06:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,506</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25396354</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Terra_Banks/pseuds/Terra_Banks</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dorian loses his temper and hits Manon. Will she forgive him?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Manon Blackbeak/Dorian Havilliard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Dorian's Mistake</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was just a plot bunny that popped into my head and it almost wrote itself. Dorian has anger issues, Manon grew up with abuse, it's a disaster waiting to happen.</p>
<p>On a serious note, domestic abuse is a serious issue, and no one has a right to hit their partner even once. It is up to the survivor to choose how they want to deal it with it. We should all be supportive, respectful, and considerate of each other.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Come back, it wasn't you, baby, it was me</em><br/>
<em>Maybe our relationship isn't as crazy as it seems</em><br/>
<em>Maybe that's what happens when a tornado meets a volcano<br/>
All I know is I love you too much to walk away though<br/>
</em><br/>
<em>I laid hands on her, I'll never stoop so low again</em><br/>
<em>I guess I don't know my own strength</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>- Love the way you lie by Eminem ft Rihanna</strong>
</p>
<hr/><p>An icy rage rose in Dorian and before he could stop himself, a phantom hand slapped Manon across the face.</p><p>He blinked in shock at his own subconscious actions, suddenly dead sober. <em>What have I done?</em></p><p>Her head stays to the side, her face framed by her moonlight hair and she does not move. He knows she was used to this from her grandmother and his stomach turned at the comparison.</p><p>What right did he have to strike her? And with those hands- the ones he promised would not hurt her. Hands that had only ever brought her pleasure and defended her from threats. A violation of the trust she had freely given him from the very start.</p><p>He knew she would not care to hear his apologies, but he made them anyway. "Manon, I didn't mean to. I'm so sorry..." He reached for her and while she did not retract herself, she stiffened. His hand fell away.</p><p>What kind of a man- what kind of a <em>King</em> would hit a woman? Only a demon, a monster. His mind flashed back to the ghost of Kaltain. He was no better than Erawan.</p><p>Gods, she was a <em>Queen</em>- a Queen of <em>Witches</em>. This was an act of <em>war</em>.</p><p>She finally turned her face back to his and he does not know what hits him harder: the four lines of blue blood running down her cheek or the pain in her eyes. He had expected her rage, which would be rightly deserved, but he could not handle her hurt. He could not stand to see this fearsome, magnificent witch look at him like he had ripped her heart out and stomped on it.</p><p>If it had been his real hand that struck her, he would have cut the offending appendage off. What could he do to make this better?</p><p>She finally turned around and walked away from him. He let her go and dropped to his knees.</p><p>Nothing. There was nothing he could do. The misery swept him away as that Valg Prince once did.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Manon's Mark</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Tell them all I know now, Shout it from the roof tops</em><br/>
<em>Write it on the sky line, All we had is gone now</em><br/>
<em>Tell them I was happy, And my heart is broken</em><br/>
<em>All my scars are open, Tell them what I hoped would be impossible</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>- Impossible by Shontelle</strong>
</p>
<hr/><p>She should have known better than to put her faith in a man. This is what men do. They take and destroy. It was what the men that came to the cabin wanted, what the demon king wanted.</p><p>Manon does not know why she had always trusted the Princeling so much, why she was sure he wouldn't hurt her when he had such rage and power inside him. It was foolish; the actions of a naive witchling and not those of a wise witch queen.</p><p>She swore to herself that she would not repeat this mistake and had the wounds on her cheek set with salt. A reminder to guard her heart and a barrier to keep him away.</p><p>It was necessary because she knows how easy it would be to take him back. She hated that she still wanted comfort from him when he was the one who caused the pain in the first place. Manon did not <em>need</em> Dorian, she told herself. She had a kingdom and a people to care for who would appreciate her.</p><p>The few who dared to ask about the origins of mark received only a withering glare in response. It was none of their business.</p><p>Elide figured it out though with that quicksilver wit of hers. The wrath on her face was worthy of a Blackbeak and she had no doubt the witchling would have marched all the way to Rifthold to give the king a reckoning if Manon hadn't stopped her with a hand on her shoulder and a gentle shake of her head.</p><p>Aelin had the nerve to approach her about it. At least she had the sense to wait until they were alone. "Chaol's worried that Dorian's gonna throw himself out the window any day now."</p><p>Manon kept her silence. Aelin's eyes went to her cheek. "I'm not excusing it Manon. I... I know what it's like."</p><p>"Has Rowan hit you outside of sparring?" Manon asked in a tone of disbelief.</p><p>"No, my master beat me badly when I messed up his slave deal. He did it in front of the man who loved me." Aelin revealed.</p><p>"This is different." Manon said, turning away.</p><p>"Look I'm not telling you to forgive him." Aelin clarified. "But he's a King and his kingdom needs him."</p><p>"And I am a Queen! He's lucky I didn't declare war and destroy his capital again!" Manon snarled, releasing her nails for effect.</p><p>Aelin just rolled her eyes at the empty threat. "All I ask is that you let me heal the mark."</p><p>"He shouldn't have done it if he didn't want to see it." Manon replied. "You of all people should know better than to wipe away someone else's scars."</p><p>Aelin flinched at that and Manon regretted the jab even if it ended the argument like she had intended.</p><p>When Aelin walked away, she mused over how easy it is to hurt someone without meaning to. To lash out one moment and regret it the next.</p><p>She frowned. Maybe she was being too harsh.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Second Chances</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>'Cause I got issues but you got 'em too</em>
  <br/>
  <em>So give 'em all to me and I'll give mine to you</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Bask in the glory of all our problems</em>
  <br/>
  <em>'Cause we got the kind of love it takes to solve 'em</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Yeah, I got issues and one of them is how bad I need you</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>- Issues by Julia Michaels</strong>
</p><hr/><p>Dorian thought he must have been dreaming when he walked into his bedroom to find Manon sitting cross-legged on his bed.</p><p>They had not been in the same room for months and he stared in surprise at her unmarred face, as beautiful as he recalled.</p><p>Yes, this had to be a dream. Perhaps he had fallen asleep in a meeting and would awaken to Chaol's grumbling any second now.</p><p>She carefully inspected him, head to toe. "I want to show you something."</p><p>She walked out and he followed her in a daze. Only after he spotted Abraxos does he begin to believe that this might be real.</p><p>He does not wait to see if she will let him ride behind her as he did for those months before Morath. He certainly did not deserve to touch her even under the premise of travel. Dorian shifted into a wyvern and followed the witch without a word. He tried not to let himself hope but failed miserably.</p><p>After a few hours of flying they land in a field of wildflowers. Manon slid off Abraxos and sat down on a patch of grass in the shade, content to watch her wvyern roll around like a puppy. "This place is special to me."</p><p>He shifted back and leaned against a tree, not daring to get any closer.</p><p>She gazed into the distance as she recalled the memory. "It's where Asterin told me about her hunter and her witchling, a secret she had kept from me for eighty years. The shame drove me to my knees when I realized that I had not been worthy of her trust- not as her cousin, her coven leader, or her Heir. She did not want an apology even though I would have begged her forgiveness in a heartbeat. All she asked was that I help her save others from suffering as she had."</p><p>She patted the space next to her and did not stiffen when he approached. Seeing that as a sign, he sat down next to her.</p><p>"I am ready to listen now." She turned to him.</p><p>"I lost control Manon." He whispered. "I never dreamed my magic would harm <em>you</em>. That's why I never wrapped it under tight control as I did around others."</p><p>"You truly did not mean to?"</p><p>"I would rather die than hurt you, but I have, and I know I cannot take it back."</p><p>"We all make mistakes Dorian. We are not defined by them." She smiled at him. "I am not too breakable remember?"</p><p>She offered her hand. He hesitated.</p><p>"I think our better world should have second chances in it, don't you princeling?"</p><p>Yes, yes, he did. Dorian never dreamed he would end up holding Manon's hand in a meadow but that was the world they had help create: one in which reality is better than dreams.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>